REEVES – Joe Dick “Richard” Reeves began life at Miller Hospital in Portales, N.M., the day after Christmas 1951. He passed away unexpectedly March 23, 2008, in Lafayette, La., from complications from a routine sinus/sleep apnea surgery. He attended Lindsey Elementary where he found his love for reading and graduated from Portales High School in 1969. Dick’s undergraduate studies earned him a degree in broadcasting. He earned his Federal Communication License in 1979, which he proudly displayed in his home office. He completed his master’s degree in education at Eastern New Mexico University in 1986. Dick used his education degree at Jemez Springs High School in New Mexico teaching a large American Indian population.

Richard moved to Alexandria, La., in 1993 while his wife completed her Army career. He had several years experience teaching English, but felt he had an even greater challenge teaching African American students in Louisiana. The Reeves family moved to Lafayette, La., in 1998. He completed his plus 30 at the University of Louisiana and gained “highly” qualified status in both English and Special Education. His last assignment was an English teacher at Lafayette High School. He was known for unique student-centered diversity. After standardized testing in March, he planned to work with his students on poetry with audio PowerPoint presentations. Richard had a comical sense of humor using his broadcasting voice he brought old jokes with a modern twist to bring home a learning point for his students. He enjoyed wood-working, genealogy, fixing hand-me down computers for his classroom, bicycling, NASCAR and reading adventure mystery books. Richard always had kind words and his greatest asset was his ability to listen. At his memorial service in Lafayette, students, teachers and administrators alike spoke of the ways he helped them and made them laugh. Richard is an organ donor. He was able to donate everything, but his heart – which had always belonged to Maxcine and Yolanda. He is survived by the thousands of students he taught; his mom Maxcine Archer Reeves; brothers Lewis, Raymond and Paul; sister Joyce Ward, his wife Yolanda Archambeault-Reeves and son Dennis. He was preceded in death by his father Chester O. Reeves, a survivor of the WWII U.S.S. Indianapolis.

Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. July 26, 2008, at Wheeler Mortuary, 500 East 3rd Portales, N.M. A gravesite service is not planned. The family requests that each individual conduct prayer services at their own church for strength in living with cancer, heart, and diabetic complications.